Cops arrest owner, five staff of Kochi hotel that held party attended by models killed in accident

The arrest was made after it was found that hotel owner Roy J Vayalat with the assistance of his employees destroyed a DVR that contained CCTV footage of the party hall and parking area

Dr Anjana Shajan and Ansi Kabeer

KOCHI: The police team probing the deaths of three including two women models in a car accident in the city has arrested six people including the owner of Fort Kochi-based Hotel 18 for suppression of evidence. The arrest was made after it was found that hotel owner Roy J Vayalat with the assistance of his five employees destroyed a Digital Video Record (DVR) that contained CCTV footage of the party hall and parking area of the hotel where the accident victims attended the night event.

After nearly seven hours of interrogation on Tuesday, Vayalat turned up at Palarivattom Police Station for questioning again on Wednesday. Police also summoned five employees of the hotel for interrogation. Police said Vayalat with the help of his staff removed two DVRs from the hotel. On Monday, he produced one and promised to come up with a second DVR on Wednesday.

However, he failed to produce the DVR following which he was taken to the server room of his hotel to trace it. Later in the interrogation, Vayalat admitted that following his directions, hotel staff threw the DVR at Vembanad lake near Thevara on November 1 after the accident. Later, police conducted a search at the location where Vayalat claimed to have dumped the crucial DVR.

"We are probing whether the night party attended by the models had any links with the accident. As part of the probe, the CCTV footage was crucial which Vayalat with the help of his employees destroyed. So we decided to charge him and his staff under IPC section 201 for the destruction of evidence. The arrest of six persons was recorded by evening," Kochi City Police Commissioner-in-Charge K P Philip said.

The car carrying Miss South India Ansi Kabeer, Miss Kerala 2019 first runner-up Anjana Shajan and Thrissur native Mohammad Ashiq, and driven by Mala native Abdul Rehman, hit a two-wheeler and then crashed into a tree by the side of NH 66 at Chakkaraparambu in the early hours of November 1.

Ansi and Anjana died on the spot while Ashiq succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Kochi. Rehman was arrested after he was discharged from the hospital. The accident victims were returning from a night party held at Hotel No 18 in Fort Kochi. Rehman was arrested in the case and was released after receiving bail from the court.

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